Blow-molded plastic containers are commonly used for storing various products. In order to produce blow-molded plastic containers, blow molding ovens are used to heat preforms and condition the preforms for subsequent blow molding. Blow molding ovens typically include heating elements that are disposed within the oven. The heating elements are arranged to form a path by which the preform passes. The heating elements are typically arranged side-by-side and stacked one atop another to ensure that an entire length of the preform is heated. As preforms travel along the path formed by the heating elements, the desired portions of the preforms are heated.
Heating elements such as lamps, for example, are operated at temperatures where the heating elements emit energy which is characterized within the visible and invisible spectrum during the blow molding process. It is well known that sensors may be used to measure the overall intensity of energy emitted from such lamps. However, within the context of blow molding ovens and the preform heating process, technology relating to the measurement of the energy emitted from the heating elements is lacking. Over time, blow molding ovens and corresponding heating elements lose efficiency, and there is a need to quantify oven wear and aging and, more specifically, the loss of efficiency of the heating elements within blow molding ovens in order to optimize the blow molding process overall.
It would be desirable to have an energy output measuring device configured to travel through an oven to collect information relating to the oven age, wear, efficiency, energy output, and other important parameters related to the oven performance.